Monday, December 6, 2010

It's Elmo's world... and what better way to do an elmo cake than with some "Sesame Street's" and blocks.

My Elmo seemed a bit on the chunky side, but we'll just call him baby Elmo. The block fronts were pretty uniform, and I wanted to include as much color as possible for the birthday girl.

The cake was vanilla with strawberry filling covered in vanilla buttercream and then green fondant.

Jordyn spelled out in block fronts... Little Elmo and his number 2 Block next to him. Green balls outline the bottom.

A number 2 block face in the back and the gray streets of Sesame laid across.

I am falling in love with making kids cakes. It is so fulfilling knowing that it will brighten the little one's face when they see it. Plus I get to use tons of colors and fun characters. My last Elmo cake was on a sheet cake, this was great to make a 3D one too.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

I just realized how long it has been since I blogged... WOW... I have a lot to get done!!! Lets start with Mason's John Deere Farm Animal Cake and cupcakes...

Simple carrot cake with cream cheese filling and frosting, covered in fondant. All the animals and the John Deere tractor were hand sculpted from fondant.

Piggy on the side...

Cow on the side....

Horse on the side...

Sheep on the side..

Horse, cow, sheep, pig and tractor... all made of fondant. Hay Bails made from fondant as well.

Sorry for the blurry pic, but a bit of a closeup on the tractor...

The animal cupcakes. Marble cupcakes with green vanilla buttercream icing. All animals are sculpted from fondant. Some animals are 3D and some are 2D faces only.

I loved making these cupcakes, they were so much fun! It was a lot of fondant, but worth every minute. Had contemplated putting Mason's name on the cake, but felt it was too crowded. All in all, I think everything went well, and my new client seemed pleased.
Happy birthday Mason!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A friend from high school found me on Facebook and fell for my cakes (can you blame her? hehe) When her daughters second birthday rolled around, she reached out and told me about her daughters obsession with cows, which includes daily viewing of cows on YouTube. She is also very fond of purple. So where did my mind go to except cows with purple spots and LOTS of purple flowers for them to be surrounded by.

The cake was three layers of carrot with cream cheese icing filling and of course covered in purple fondant.

I made one of my classic sitting cows (with purple spots instead of black) and a standing cow with a cute little tail that you will see in another pic. They sit on top of a layer on "grass" with multiple shades of purple flowers.

Around the sides were cow faces and blades of grass covered the bottom perimeter.

The cake as a whole.

There are those cute tails.

Maeve loved her cake, and I was informed that she told everyone at the party that they were HER cows! There's nothing like making a 2 year old's birthday special!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

I was given the amazing honor of creating a wedding cake for the nuptials of Roger Shih to Katie Martin. It was to be decorated to match the invitations, place settings, and even the sash on the bridal gown. Given that it was a fall wedding, the trims and accents were done in a dark brown. The main color was an off-white/beige color. The bride requested three tiers and squared. I went for classic height so that it would measure to 18 inches tall in total. The topper was created by the groom himself to depict the hot air balloon ride they took on the day he proposed. The base was a simple board covered in brown cloth and adorned with fall leaves, berries, and pumpkin sprigs; again, perfect for fall. The flavor... vanilla cake with strawberry/banana filling, and cream cheese icing. Katie described it as a Strawberry/Banana Cheesecake, light, delicate, just the right amount of sweetness, and so moist and smooth.

And here it is...

The Cutting of the cake! So exciting!

There was a line walking into the reception so that everyone could take pictures! :-)

Close-up on some of the detail. It took some time, but was well worth it, and honestly one of my proudest creations! I do have a thing for swirls though!

Close-up of the balloon.

Roger and Katie are something of a rarity these days, they are high school sweethearts! They have literally been together for half of their lives, and like I said, it was a complete HONOR to be asked to make their cake. The happy couple is now on their honeymoon, cruising the Mediterranean and starting the next phase of their lives together as a married couple.

Congratulations Roger and Katie Shih... Thank you for the wonderful opportunity and including me on your special day. May you live a long, healthy and happy life together!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Jack Thomas has been baptized. What better way to celebrate than with CAKE!! Granted, he is too little to actually have any... but his parents, family and friends sure got to enjoy!

After some deliberation, his parents decided on Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese filling. In a cross shape covered in fondant. Ask and ye shall receive!

Simple and sweet. The cross was covered in white fondant, a robin's egg blue scroll that read, "God Bless Jack Thomas Love Mommy and Daddy", two tiny blue roses at the sides, and a pretty blue dove with small white olive branch. A trim of blue was placed to help the cross pop!

The parents loved the cake and were very happy with it. Others at the party have sent their compliments, and its certainly nice to hear!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

I have a baptism cake, a pyrex post and a superb wedding cake post that I still need to share with you all... but in the spirit of the holiday this weekend, I am going to skip those for now and show you some Candy Corn Cupcake Pops that I made this morning. The inspiration came from, of course, the wonderful Bakerella and her cupcake pops. I haven't seen any to resemble candy corns, so I went for it!

I used vanilla cake, instead of the classic red velvet... and cream cheese icing that I have an abundance of in the freezer from last weekend. I covered them with Yellow chocolate first, then Orange, naturally, and finished off with your White. I have to admit, I did run out of Yellow and had to make just Orange and White, but it is often that you will find the rogue candy corn without a yellow bottom.

The inside!

Gotta admit... they taste pretty yummy!!

I hope everyone has a great and spooky Halloween, filled with tricks and treats!

Friday, October 22, 2010

A client asked me to make a birthday present cake for his wife Gosia. Not a box, but a wrapped package, which was really easy. A square cake with indent lines to look like folds in paper. It was decorated with pink polka dots, a large pink bow, a gift tag and a single white rose.

The cake itself was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling and covered with chocolate buttercream and then fondant.

The client was actually surprised at how big it was... which I take as a compliment... I would rather hear that he got more for his money, than feeling cheated! They really enjoyed the cake, and shared with co-workers the next day!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

After a cake tasting that I did for an upcoming wedding, I had a ridiculous amount of cream cheese icing left over, so I needed something to make. Given the wonderful fall weather, what better than Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes! I wanted to make them a little more Autumn, so why not add some candy corns and candy pumpkins. First though, I had to get the batter going.

I wanted to do some sort of filling, but something different, so I baked a candy pumpkin inside.

I also wanted to change up the classic Cream Cheese icing, so I added some maple syrup and cinnamon for a Cinnamon/Maple Cream Cheese icing. sweet, but light and creamy!

I decorated with lots of pumpkins and corns, in patterns that remind me of pinwheels.

This one is a flower! :-)

And when you cut it open, it has a pumpkin inside. It was something new for me, a trail and error, if you will... but i like to think, minus the error! It came out perfect. The pumpkin stayed in tact, with a bit of the sugar caramelizing around it, making it very chewy inside, but holding onto its pumpkin integrity. It was a nice little surprise.

These are guaranteed to bring you to the dentist, but they were yummy and definitely fit for the season. I'm already thinking of what I can bake tomorrow!!! :-) It is the best time of year for baking! That's for sure!

Friday, October 15, 2010

I have been dying to do something "Super Mario" inspired for years, but never had the opportunity. Well, finally the opportunity presented itself and I was like a kid in a candy store!!!

We'll get the basics down quick... the cupcakes were chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, filled and topped. Then came the fun part. Circles of fondant to depict the background of each cupcake and then smaller pieces of multiple colors to turn little cupcakes into Super Mario's favorite characters, both enemies and friends!
Here is a top view of the bulk. The only ones missing are duplicates 20 cupcakes, 10 characters done twice.

You can see the Mario and Luigi heads, the flying fish, the mushrooms and ghosts and squid. A Goomba, some flower power, and the vicious pipe plants.

A close-up of the good stuff. A coin, flower power, and star power.

A scary Goomba looking to get squished.

A 1-Up mushroom on a question mark block.

A flying fish looking passive, but they are aggressive!

Marioooo... the name with the game. He was fun to make.

Luigi was more fun to make! haha... those eyebrows made it more fun!

The kids went nuts over them. The parents went nuts over them.. and I finally got to make my Super Mario treats (so yes, I went nuts over them too).

A highlight of my baking/decorating career! LOVE IT!! Every time I look at them I hear the theme song in my head! :-)